Mara-do, Jeju, March 22, 2014 Largely the same feeling today on Mara when compared with last Saturday. The Oriental Plovers were missed, and a few new birds were noted, like Black-crowned Night Heron, Hoopoe, Eurasian Wren, Chinese Grosbeak and Eurasian Siskin. Distressingly, a large orange cat was seen prowling in the woods, the first time I’ve observed this. One can only imagine how many exhausted migrants this cat will kill in the coming weeks and months.

Jeju north coast, March 23 (with Mike Balfour) Sunday saw calm and warm weather after a windy and smoggy week on Jeju. Definite signs of spring movement noted, with some birds seemingly early. We saw a total of 61 species today, at parks in Jeju City, at Hado, and Seongsan. In Jeju City, a crisp Grey-backed Thrush was a real treat to watch as it perched in a tree. Three Chinese Grosbeaks and plentiful Pale Thrush were also noted in this park. Near Seongsan, we stopped to look at gulls, and were surprised to see a Saunders’s Gull in summer plumage gracefully wheeling low to the water (a personal Jeju first). Very high overhead, three Cinereous Vultures circled on a thermal - probably Jeju’s strangely resident vultures. At Hado, we were glad to see seemingly healthy numbers and diversity of waterfowl, in spite of disruptive spraying and other showy/dubious AI (bird flu) countermeasures. The Black-faced Spoonbills that regularly overwinter at Hado, however, have stayed away, and some can be found near Seongsan at a far less ideal site located next to a new walking trail. A new viewing platform has been built much closer to the reservoir at Hado, and worryingly, a picnic gazebo – right at the water’s edge. Also at Hado, two more relatively dark-faced Meadow Buntings were seen. I’ve seen plenty of Meadow Buntings on Jeju over the years, but never with such dark facial markings. They also seemed to make a more ‘tingy’ insect-like call than I’m used to. How closely related to Japanese Ciopsis Meadow Buntings are Jeju’s Meadow Buntings? Read Dr. Nial Moores’ excellent ID notes here:http://www.birdskorea.org/Birds/Identification/ID_Notes/BK-ID-Meadow-Bunting.shtml

6.
Ancient
MurreletSynthliboramphus antiquus; five
from the ferry, two in breeding plumage

7.
Eurasian
MagpiePica pica; three individuals
around the village

8.
Far
Eastern SkylarkAlauda japonica;
15 or more resting in the short grass, ‘chirruping’ quietly, unlike their
counterparts nearby on Jeju proper, that were in full song in the fields

9.
Barn
SwallowHirundo Rustica; only one
seen over the island

10.
Japanese
Bush WarblerHorornis diphone

11.
Japanese
White-eyeZosterops japonicus; 10+
in the small woods at the island’s centre

12.
Naumann’s
ThrushTurdus naumanni

13.
Dusky
ThrushTurdus eunomus

14.
Daurian
RedstartPhoenicurus auroreus

15.
Blue Rock
ThrushMonticola solitarius

16.
White
WagtailMotacilla alba; two leucopsis

17.
Richard’s
PipitAnthus richardi

18.
Grey-capped
GreenfinchChloris sinica; eight
in the woods

+Belated Seogwipo
Bird News

At ‘Redpoll Hill’, a brief sighting of a Yellow-browed Warbler on March 4th was
followed by a much better listen/look at three individuals on March 13th. On the same day, a single Goldcrest was seen (my first Goldcrest
on Jeju in 3+ years), and several Tristram’s
Bunting still. Also, a possible Black Wood Pigeon – a large dark pigeon
clacked its wings loudly as it took off, then flew strongly through the canopy. On March 14th, I spotted my first Barn Swallows of the year, just east of
town. I watched 30+ swooping over an
artificial pond for an enjoyable 20 minutes.

I've been roaming the hills and coasts of late in an effort to find new habitat. When I lived on Geoje it took me almost a year before I found some great spots, and I'm kicking myself for that. Seogwipo has some decent areas of habitat, but I've found them to be less birdy than they've been in the past. This may be down to increased disturbance due to tourism. Local officials have been chasing the almighty Chinese tourism dollar lately, with developers putting up anything they can, anywhere they can. I constantly find myself driving around saying 'THAT wasn't there two years ago,' about a never-ending series of cafes, hotels, and the construction sites that spawned them. So I'll search higher in the hills, and further down the coast, in the hopes there's some undisturbed habitat left somewhere.

There were some unsolved avian
riddles, as well as early signs of spring, on a rainy then sunny weekend. On the same hill where a Common Redpoll was
seen two weeks ago, I encountered at least six Tristram’s Buntings skulking in the scrub. I’ve never seen Tristram’s in the winter - could
they be early migrants? Also of note
were Japanese Bush Warblers in full
song, and almost a dozen Long-tailed
Tits (I’m still unsure how to separate trivirgatus
and magnus Long-tailed Tits) in a
nearby gully. Small groups of Olive-backed Pipits and Grey-capped Greenfinch move through the
woods and forest edge in several spots.

In the city, I’ve noticed a group of about a dozen White Wagtails noisily moving from the rooftops to one particular
large roadside tree, daily just before dusk over the past week. Do White Wagtails communally roost?

In a park in town it seems like Mandarin
Duck and Spot-billed Duck (small
numbers of Spot-billed do spend the summer on Jeju) numbers have thinned out
considerably. Another sign of an early
spring? Grey Wagtails and Red-flanked
Bluetails can also be found in Seogwipo’s parks.

About Me

Howdy! I'm a birder from Montreal who has been working and birding in South Korea since 2005. I've lived on Jeju and Geoje Islands, and have birded at a diverse range of sites in South Korea. After drifting around Europe for a bit, I'm back in Suncheon, Korea for one last hurrah. Ergo sum ego avem. (contact me at mattpoll24 at gmail dot com)